Thursday, March 26, 2015

PROJECT CANVAS NEXT STEPS
The excitement is building for the College's transition to new LMS Canvas. Two members of the BRCC Implementation Team, eLearning Program Manager Susan Nealy and LMS Administrator Lenora White, are attending a two day train-the-trainer session now. In addition, we have developed our training plans to accommodate  you as we move for full integration beginning in the summer semester. You can register for various sessions now. The face-to-face sessions will be held on various dates and times (including evening sessions) in the Teaching+Learning Center (311 Magnolia Bldg.) on the Mid City Campus. We will also have sessions at the Acadian Campus (location TBD). Project Canvas: A Transition Primer is session 1 and will provide an overview of the tool and discussion of a course blueprint in a one hour format. Registrants are asked to bring a copy of their course syllabus. Project Canvas: The Basics is session 2 and will cover the various Canvas functions in a hands-on two hour format. Project Canvas: Superusers is session 3 (a three hour format) and will be targeted at the eLearning faculty (online and hybrid) and anyone else who wants to fully integrate this technology tool into their course. A self-paced option is also being offered by Canvas. Please check your email for an invitation to enroll in this course on Monday, March 30 (checking your junk folder is encouraged as the email may end up there). This optional training consists of six modules including a quiz at the conclusion of each module. Credit can be earned for completing this course with at least a 70% score on all six modules. Send questions or comments to any of the BRCC Implementation Team including Susan, Lenora, Chief Information Officer Ron Solomon, or Dean of Innovative Learning and Academic Support Todd Pourciau.

TASK SWITCHING HURTS DEEP LEARNING
Are you finding it harder than ever to attract and keep your student's attention during class? Have you noticed that your students are more easily distracted than in the past? Attention Deficit Trait (ADT) may be the culprit. First introduced by Dr. Edward Hallowell as a very real but under-recognized neurological phenomenon, the core symptoms are distractability, inner frenzy, and impatience. ADT sufferers have trouble staying organized, setting priorities, managing time, and staying focused. We have continued to research the effects of ADT and have uncovered interventions that have produced positive results in the classroom. This topic was previously discussed in an Academic Minute podcast by McGill University's Julio Martinez-Trujillo post that highlighted the idea of switching in the brain (what many have described as multi-tasking). The research begins with the assumption that you cannot change something if you are unaware of its existence. In this case, many students are unaware that forcing their brain to switch very quickly between many tasks is actually "training" this behavior. Obviously this type of habit is not conducive to deep learning that is required for complex tasks in a college setting. Dr. Joe Kraus contends that we are creating and encouraging a culture of distraction mostly linked to the plethora of technology available to everyone. This phenomena illustrates that teaching is a complex process that requires its practitioners to continuously learn and practice and the Teaching+Learning Center is here to help on that front.

BRAIN REACTS TO NEGATIVITY
Dr. Naomi Eisenberger argues that the brain reacts to social pain much as we react to physical pain. She lists five social rewards and threats that are deeply important to the brain: autonomy, certainty, fairness, relatedness, and status. It explains why people receive feedback in a negative way because it is an attack on a person's status. This aligns with research by Dr. Barbara Gross Davis that grades are a sigh of approval or disapproval and can be taken very personally. She says, "If you devise clear guidelines from which to assess performance, you will find the grading process more efficient, and the essential function of grades–communicating the student's level of knowledge–will be easier. Further, if you grade carefully and consistently, you can reduce the number of students who complain and ask you to defend a grade."

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

BECOMING A POWERFUL TEACHER
Rob Jenkins, who writes for The Chronicle of Higher Education, wrote a provocative article recently focusing on what he feels are the four properties powerful teachers need to have or develop. He begins the article noting that we are in a teaching renaissance period where a "renewed interest and commitment to the subject [has occurred] across academe. He writes, "As a faculty member for almost 30 years, I have been inspired and motivated by all of the online chatter. Those experiences have led me to conclude that, when we boil down all the metrics, we’re left with four qualities that all powerful teachers possess. I’m not just talking about adequate, effective, or even good teachers. I’m talking about the ones who most move us, who have made the most difference in our lives, and whom we most wish to emulate. Perhaps we can’t all be that kind of teacher, but I suspect many of us at least aspire to be. So what makes those teachers so great?" Read more here.

THE VIDEO EXPLOSION
Casey Fabris posted a blog article focused on the prevalence of the use of videos in our classrooms. Fabris quotes a new study that found that 68 percent of students watch videos in class, and 79 percent watch them on their own time, outside of class, to assist in their learning. Perhaps not surprisingly, the study found that students do not like videos with speakers who are monotonous, appear nervous, or do not make eye contact with the camera. Videos with animations, real-world examples, and new material were well received. The ideal length of a video ranged from five to 20 minutes. Most students, according to the study, go to YouTube to look for educational videos. They also use Google and frequent course websites. Very few students rely on the library for such materials, with only 32 percent of respondents saying they had searched for videos on their library’s website.

PROJECT CANVAS STARTS
As you know, we will begin using the Canvas LMS during the summer term at the College. Several of you are participating in the eLearning faculty certification spring institute which is being delivered using Canvas. We will be offering several informational sessions about Canvas at our campuses and sites in the coming weeks. Those will be followed by more hands-on sessions designed to help you build your courses. You can start acclimating yourself with the new LMS in a few ways. The first is by using Canvas to build your course content. The second is to join Canvas Community 2.0 which is being offered as a sneak peek now. The Canvas Community is home to all the resources that Instructure provides to help Canvas users succeed (the Canvas Guides, Video Tutorials, Sample Courses, etc.) Users can find answers to questions about Canvas through these resources and from one another in the community forums.The Canvas Community 2.0 will also be a place where Canvas users can connect and interact with Instructure and with each other to discuss and share best practices, ideas for new Canvas features, and even coalesce into community groups of practice and interest including institutions, geographies, roles (e.g. teachers, instructional designers) and other common interests (e.g. all business schools, schools with unique needs).

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

ENGAGED SCHOLARS CIRCLE ADDS TWO MEMBERS
The latest inductees to be recognized by the Teaching+Learning Center for student engagement excellence are Dr. Marcella Hackney and Jamie Gurt, Esq. Dr. Hackney is an associate professor of science in the STEM Division. Mrs. Gurt is Paralegal Program Manager and an instructor for the program, part of the Business, Social Sciences, and History Division.  Both faculty are big proponents of active learning methods and use the full teaching toolkit to get the most out of their students. As we made the presentation of the coveted green t-shirts to them during class, their students were very excited. Many of their students came up to us to validate the honor as they spoke of ways in which each of these teachers created strong relationships that nurtured learning. Congratulations to Jamie and Marcella who join Paul Guidry, Sandra Guzman, Wes Harris, Mary Miller, and Amy Pinero as examples of faculty who not only believe in the power of engagement as a retention strategy but creatively introduce methods that promote student success.
Dr. Marcella Hackney
Paul Guidry and Jamie Gurt













JOINING THE ELEARNING REVOLUTION
I received a number of positive comments on the Tech Tuesday Tip sent this week. I wanted to follow that with a new article by Dr. Maryellen Weimer about the online learning conversation. She notes, "Is it time to change the online learning conversation? The debate about whether online courses are a good idea continues with most people still on one side or the other. Who’s right or wrong is overshadowed by what the flexibility and convenience of online education has offered institutions and students. Those features opened the door, and online learning has come inside and is making itself at home in most of our institutions. No doubt the debate over the value of online learning will continue, but perhaps it’s being judged by the wrong criteria." Read more here.

CRITICAL THINKING CAN BE TAUGHT
Carlos Sanchez, Silvia Rivas, and Sonia Moral, in their article Collaborative Learning Supported by Rubrics Improves Critical Thinking, report that critical thinking can be improved by paying attention to instructional design. If you are looking to redesign your course with learning experiences aimed at improving the critical thinking abilities of your students, this article is a good start. The authors write, "In previous works we developed and assessed a teaching program with which we aimed to improve the fundamental skills of critical thinking. The results obtained were positive, but modest. After analyzing the limitations of the program we introduced certain modifications and assessed the new version. The changes involved designing the activities programmed by means of rubrics and making the students perform them with less direct orientation from the instructor. In sum specificity and initiative proved to be the key variables in the improved program, ARDESOS v.2. The data collected pointed to a significant improvement of the new version over the old one in the following aspects: a) version 2 improved all the fundamental dimensions, mainly in the pre- and post-test measurements, to a significant extent; b) the effect size was significantly higher, and finally c) these improvements in the program elicited better performance. Accordingly, an improvement in critical thinking can be achieved via an instruction design that attends to the factors that really induce change. Currently, these results have allowed us to successfully add a new improvement to the instruction, which we have re-evaluated." You can read more here.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

MAKING PEOPLE SWOON
Rachel Toor has written a humorous piece published in The Chronicle of Higher Education about creating the perfect lecture. In her perfect version, she explains that she would read the entire carefully written speech and it would bring down the house. But she returns us to reality and explains how this process led her to take a closer look at her classroom presentations that historically used PowerPoint slides to keep it moving. In the end, she concludes that it is important to grab and retain our audience's attention (for most of us that is students). Take a look yourself and let me know what you think.

21ST CENTURY LEARNING SPACES
Each time I enter my classroom in the Governors Building, I spend some time (usually with help from the early-arrivers) moving the tables and chairs around. Creating a space that promotes collaborative learning is important to me and makes using active learning methods much easier. At the beginning of the semester, some students ask if we are going to do this all the time and say things like "I don't want to stare at the other people in the room." By the second or third class, those "people" have become colleagues and the synergy begins to emerge. By making small changes in how my classroom is arranged, I am able to create a learner-centered environment. This process also makes me think about what my perfect classroom would look like. Combination chair-desks that roll are high on my list. I would also like floor-to-ceiling white boards all around the room. Two smart boards would be terrific. I would love to have some individual white boards at each desk for the students to use. Okay, let me show what I mean. Take a look at the Collaborative Learning Studio that the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning at Indiana University has created. The video wall might make you drool. So what would your ideal classroom look like?

PI DAY OF CENTURY REQUIRES PIE
Hopefully most of you received Associate Professor of Mathematics Jeffrey Weaver's email about Pi Day of the Century (which occurs on March 14, 2015) to be celebrated at the College on Thursday, March 12. The Division of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics in cooperation with the Math Club will celebrate Pi Day by distributing pie in the Cypress Building from 12:00 to 2:00 pm and from 4:00 to 6:00 pm. The Cypress building will be decorated with displays created by Jeffrey's Math 167 and Math 168 students. There are two ways you can join in the fun. The first is by supplying the pie to be distributed. That can be delivered to Jeffrey's office (222 Cypress Bldg.). You can also stop by on that day between the hours mentioned above to receive your piece of the pie. By the way, it is Pi Day of the Century according to Jeffrey, "because March 14, 2015 at 9:26:53 translates into 3. 14 15 926 53 which is Pi represented to 9 decimal places. This event happens only once every 100 years…Pi Day of the Century!"